Heart Without A Home
by Hollypop93
Summary: A few days before New Years, 17 year old Hollie arrives at her newly inherited farm to make a start on her new life. On her way, she is startled by a shadowy figure, and by someone who surprises her as much as it surprises himself. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **I know it's reckless to start yet another story, but I desperately wanted to write a romance about my OCC and Cliff. I always thought he was interesting to write about. I haven't and won't be able to write often and much at all because of my AS coursework and exams, but I am gradually writing chapters in what little free time I have. If you enjoy my stories, I'm really grateful at how patient you are with me to update them. It always puts a smile on my face when I check my emails and I have one with a review or such and people are showing interest in my fictions.

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Everything this evening seemed so brand new. The snow in the pitch-black backdrop radiating against the faded street lights in soft flurries, as I walked past the blanketed farm at the bottom of the ice-capped mountain. It looked so magical. I felt tempted to try and stick my tongue out and catch the tiny icicles, and let them melt in revenge to the ones that stung faintly against the tip of my nose and the surface of my cheeks.

I continued walking, listening to the crunching under my boots, which was the only noise that could be made out against the silence that echoed through the valley. Standing on the small bridge over the small river that ran underneath, I took a moment to look downstream at the ocean not far in the distance. It looked like the perfect moment for a dazzling snapshot. I couldn't fight back smiling into my soft fluffy scarf that engulfed half of my face. I stared for a brief moment before turning to carefully continue my path towards the farm that my parents had given to me as my own responsibility. I moved my weight forward to take the first tentative step when a dark figure caught my attention in my peripheral vision. Shocked, I stumbled back losing balance. It felt like I was falling in slow motion as I desperately tried to persuade my brain to recover my balance. No matter how many times I screamed in that short half a second, I could just feel myself falling back. I closed my eyes expecting coldness to surround me.

It didn't. I waited a second to open my eyes. Had I just passed out without recollection of the last second of the fall? Slowly, nervously, I opened my eyes. The pitch-black sky and sparkling white snow was scattered in places over me. Adjusting my eyesight, a dark figure loomed around me, and after a moment, I could feel a small gentle pressure around my waist and on my shoulder blades through my coat. The figure in front of me stared down at me. Almost protectively. It took only a moment to realise the man was still staring. Dark brown hair covered the top of his face, but I could make out the soft shade of his purple eyes. They looked as scared as I felt. I tried to open my mouth to thank him, but only puffs of my choked breath escaped. Embarrassed, I tucked my head down as I felt my cheeks burn and the pit of stomach knotting itself.

The man's arms broke their grip around me and he stiffly stood back, rubbing the back of his neck. At a closer inspection, I could see his large maroon coat with a fluffy lining in the hood, and the brown scarf he had his hand tucked beneath to reach the back of his neck. He was significantly taller than me, though I was barely five foot two, but he looked like he was at least late teens or early twenties, if that, looking at the delicate features of his face: a gentle but firm shape to his jaw and cheeks, and the beautiful set to his eyes that looked back at me. I breathed out, my mouth even more exposed to the cold from when he pulled away.

"T-thank you," I breathed, trying to pull as much of my voice out as possible, but looking away as very little probably reached him as the freezing wind picked up around us, stealing my voice away.

He stared at me for a moment before looking away and walking off. I watched him for a moment, he walked towards a large building; some of the room lights on each of the three floors were lit. Biting my lip, I fought to gain composure, and trying to figure out what I had possibly done wrong. From what I could tell, a few minutes had already passed when a familiar man ran through the piled untouched snow towards me calling my name.

"Hollie, I've been waiting for you. It was getting late so I was worried about you so I came to see if maybe you were lost. Come on, let's get in the warm," the man called between heavy breathes. His name was Takakura, and lived on the farm I was going to live on. He was an extremely close friend of my Dad's, despite a seven year age gap between them. My father being younger.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me to the farm, opening the front door of the small farmhouse. Stepping inside I looked around: a single bed sat tidily in the left hand corner with an equally small bedside table next to it. A small round table sat in the centre of the room with two small matching chairs on either side. In the left corner near the door, a small trunk was open ajar with the head of an axe sticking out and other contents barely on show. In front of it near the bed a small wooden drawer stood with a small phone on it, on the side near the wall, with space for small decorations on the free space. On the far right hand side of the back wall, there was a door to what Takakura explained to me was a small bathroom. The entire room looked like it hadn't been touched in many years, but nothing about it said you couldn't live in it. I took a few steps inside and took as much time as possible as I could make of a few short seconds to take in all these details, flicking the light switch I spied in the porch wall as I walked in.

"I realise it's small, but you can do what you want with it. It's your home, you know," Takakura said snapping me from my daydream. I looked back and nodded. "There isn't a kitchen at the moment, but you're free to visit for breakfast until you can have one installed and such."

I nodded again, and thanked him. I forced as big a smile I could, my lips and cheeks still slightly numb from the cold. Looking at the table I stepped over and dumped the heavy bag on it's small surface, listening to Takakura saying that he was going to leave me to settle in and get some rest. I peered over my shoulder pushing my hair back to look at him more clearly and thanked him again, and bidding him goodnight. Opening the bag by the frustrating zip that was partially snagged against one of woollen jumpers, I poured about a quarter of the contents on to the table, putting the bag on one of the chairs as I did so. A small wall mirror fell out onto my clothes. I picked it up and hung it on a small hook by the thread on it's back above the bedside table as I discovered a useful place to hang it. I stared at myself for a moment in the mirror. My dark brown hair was a mess: my fringe was matted and soaked in places from the snow, and bits stuck up in ugly cowlicks unnaturally from the cold wind. Pulling my scarf off, the rest of my hair fell on my shoulders. In places the different layers wrapped around the long layers in curls like barbed wire. Sighing, I searched through the bag for the hairbrush I knew I had packed. I brushed my hair in a rushed fashion. My hair looked better, but still not decent enough: I certainly wouldn't go out to meet people like this. Yuck.

When I finished, I stared for a moment and breathed out tiredly, my hot breath steaming up the mirror a bit. I sat down on the edge of the bed, adjusting myself to sit comfortably. For a while I just sat hunched over in thought, later leaning over and onto my back with my head on the pillows. I allowed my mind to race. I knew my parents planned on calling in the morning to check up on me after a good night's rest. My mind then returned to the event that had only happened just over half an hour ago. That man. I couldn't hold back the thoughts: who was he? Why was he there? Why did he even help me? What's his name? What kind of person is he? Will I ever see him again? These thoughts raced in cycles in the invisible space on the ceiling until I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **Here's the second chapter to my Cliff fanfiction. I hope this is enjoyable. It's very hard making sure his personality right and maintaining an element of creativity with him. Hopefully he doesn't seem entirely different from in the game. I think there is a lot of sweetness and a lot of confusion, which is of course natural when you arrive at a new place. I really appreciate reviews as long as they're constructive. I enjoyed writing this chapter since it introduces a lot of characters for the first time and sets up the protagonist's relationships with them. Again, I hope it's enjoyable to read.

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I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. Light was shining through the windows. Dragging my legs over the side of the bed I pushed the covers off me and leaned over in a sleepy daze. Rubbing my forehead in large circles, it occurred to me that something seemed strange. I was used to the sound of talking and busyness. Whether it was Mum actually getting up early on a Saturday morning, or my brothers running through the hallway looking for items of clothing between their bedrooms and the clothes hamper in the bathroom. Or they had forgotten where they left their trainers. It felt surreal to wake up to complete silence.

Organising myself I brushed through my hair, and grabbed the first set of clean clothes out my bag that still sat on the chair where I left it last night. After changing, I stared at the bag. Without much thought, I grabbed the handles and pulled it across the floor to the chest of drawers, which had the phone on it. Pulling open the top drawer, I scattered my clothes across the bed. I grabbed the t-shirts, re-folding them before tucking them as far back inside the drawer. I did the same for my underwear in the smaller drawer on the right hand side, before moving to the larger one below it and stuffing my trousers and summer dresses inside. I couldn't imagine what I could possibly wear the dresses for really; I've never been very feminine. I felt strangely liberated to have some order in this house. I had barely paused for a moment after finishing when the phone scared me with its ringing. I grabbed the phone and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said.

"Good morning, sweetie," a familiar man's deep voice said on the other line. I couldn't fight back a smile.

"Morning Dad," I said in return. I could hear the smile in the tone of my voice.

"Did you sleep well?" Dad asked. I could tell he was trying to maintain as casual a tone in his voice as possible, but I knew Dad well. He must have been worrying all night.

"Not as well as I would have liked. But I can't complain," I answered, unable to fight back a yawn.

"It's always hard sleeping in an unusual bed. Did you find the farm okay?" Dad said trying to hold back laughing at my yawning.

"Yea, it wasn't too hard. Just dark by the time I got to the valley. Takakura found me near the entrance. He was worried I'd gotten lost or something." I said, thoughtfully thinking about the piece of information I had intentionally left out.

"That's good to hear." Dad paused. I could hear the soft sound of his breathing. "Is everything all right Hollie? It sounded like something's on your mind."

Dad always saw through me. "Well. You know me, being the daydreamer I am. I stopped to admire what I could see of the valley when I was walking to the farm. It was so beautiful." I began.

"Well that's hardly unusual for you is it? Always away with the fairies," Dad said laughing.

"You know me too well Dad." I laughed, and then cleared my throat. "Well. I was standing on a small bridge looking down the river towards the ocean. It was captivating. I was then startled by a figure at the corner of my eye. Naturally I turned to look at the figure to see who it was." I paused and sucked in a deep breath. "The bridge was icy. And I slipped." I could hear Dad sucking in his breath. I waited until I could hear the sound of him breathing out before speaking again. "The figure that I saw caught me. I thought I had fallen in the river. But the figure caught me somehow."

It took a moment before Dad said anything. "I'm relieved you're okay, Hollie. But how unusual. Did you get this person's name?"

"No. I barely managed to thank him before he left. I doubt he could hear me." I admitted. I assumed by the long pause the fact it was a man that helped me stopped Dad from speaking. I adjusted myself and sat on the edge of the bed as I waited for Dad to compose himself.

"Well, though you didn't get his name, he must be a gentleman to some degree to help you like that," Dad finally said. I could hear him clear his throat. "I'm right to assume you're not hurt?"

"Of course Dad," I quickly answered, laughing as reassuringly as possible. Though I stopped quickly. "Umm, Dad? Could you avoid telling Tyler? Or at least make it clear that I'm okay? I know he'll panic-"

"Of course Hollie. Your brother would have a heart attack so you would say." Dad laughed as he spoke. Tyler's was one and half years younger than me, and despite being younger, often acted protectively over me because he was taller than me and looked like an older brother. Of course, I always reminded him that I was older.

"Thanks Dad," I said, nodding as he spoke. "Umm…"

"Mum's at school preparing her classroom." Dad chuckled. I didn't have a chance to ask how he figured I would ask. "She said that she'll call in the evening. She said that she wanted to get her classroom ready for when the students go back to school. She's been very worried too, you know."

"I know Dad. But on a Saturday? Mum never gets up this early." I said laughing at the thought of what Mum was like when she got up. 'The devil has awoken.' rang in my head.

"It confused me as well. Though it seems the Goddess still loves me since I'm still in tact." I laughed again. But it quickly turned quiet. "Hollie, we love you very much. Jack and Tyler are both getting ready to go out, but they said to tell you that they were thinking of you. They know you don't like being fussed too much."

"Uhm, yea." I said softly. This was weird. I wasn't used to this much attention. "Well pass my love on and a huge hug okay?

"Of course." Dad answered.

"Thanks Dad. Let everyone know I've been thinking of them. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I woke up. It was so strange. It's really quiet here. I love you all so much," I finally said. I could feel my chest tighten a little. It was a bittersweet feeling. I knew I loved my family and told them all the time, but I only just felt how important they were to me now they weren't near me. But I was happy I could still hear their voices, even it was only Dad's.

Dad and I carried on talking for a little while. He explained that Jack and Tylers' school friends were planning on coming over in a couple of hours since they had made plans. He explained that Jack was going to go swimming at midday like he usually did, and that Tyler was going to see a movie. I smiled while listening. Jack was the youngest of our family and 13 years old. Of my two brothers, I was most openly closest to Tyler. My college friends thought it was strange since our age gap was so small, and most siblings were at each other's necks. Tyler was a quiet boy who'd never stood out much and like me didn't care for the popular crowds. I always got along with him because of how open and understanding he was. Jack on the other hand was more popular generally with his classmates because he more outgoing. He didn't have much of a care for popularity, but he had a likable personality with his friends. I hated to admit it, but I was sometimes envious of how easily he got along with people.

After Dad and I had finished talking on the phone, I stared at it as I put it back on the receiver. We had spoken for nearly an hour. After taking a moment to think it over, I realised why Dad didn't wait until this evening to call like Mum had planned to: he knew I would feel so much more confident to hear his voice. Smiling, I walked over to the trunk in the corner of the room and pulled out the tools and a bag that sat inside. Shaking the empty bag, clouds of dust scattered around the air in front of me. Coughing, I brushed the dust away with a hand. I took the tools and started stuffing them inside as conveniently as possible. It didn't catch me eye earlier, but in the far corner of the room where the trunk sat facing, two small bags of seeds were leaning against the wall. They had a thick layer of dust on the surface disguising the simple picture of a turnip on both bags. Grabbing them I put them to one side in the bottom of the trunk. It was pointless using them now while the ground was still rock hard. Glancing at my watch, it was nearly half past seven. There was no use trying to do anything on the farm with the soil too hard to anything on it, and no barns and animals for me to care for yet.

I walked outside grabbing the front door key that hung on a small key rack in the porch. I assumed Takakura held a spare since I couldn't remember him putting a key there in the first place. I was too tired to realise the key rack was there to begin with; let alone a key sitting there as well. Locking the front door, I breathed in the cold, fresh air. Walking around the side of the house, I looked around at the large field that expanded from left to right. I was right: tapping the ground with the heel of my boots, the ground was far too hard to even plan how I was going to make use of it, let alone get to work. Yawning with a stretch, I back tracked round the house and walked towards the front of the farm. Takakura was closing the door to his own house, equally as small as mine, as I passed. He stopped and asked me how I slept and I explained the same thing I had to Dad. Takakura then went on to explain that it would be a good idea to introduce myself to as many people as possible before spring comes around. Smiling I agreed and thanked him, watching as he awkwardly excused himself for his morning walk.

After giving Takakura time to walk off without thinking I was following him I walked out the front of the farm and stopped at the cross section of the path which was barely visible from the amount of piled up snow. I could only tell from the sound of crunching off the frozen dirt and the slight tapping sound of what must have been tile or brick under my feet. Taking a good look around I observed Forget-Me-Not Valley in the daylight. The trees were all spiny branches and had no sense of life about them, and the air made a fascinating whistling sound as it rushed through the corners and bends of the valley. Having focused my sights on the bridge where I had slipped last night, I looked up to the farm in the not-so-far distance. This was definitely the best place to start.

I carefully stepped along the ground and paused at the bridge. I tentatively took baby steps until the sound of crunching replaced the echoing tapping of the wooden bridge before increasing my pace to approach the farmhouse on the left hand side. I took a moment to take a deep breath before holding my hand up towards the door about to flick my wrist to knock. It was more than a surprise when the door opened. A petite young woman who looked like she was in her late teens or very early twenties had an equally shocked expression on her face as I did. She stared at me briefly before smiling and greeting me with a chirpy "hello" and inviting me inside.

After tapping the snow off the bottom of my boots I stepped inside. Directly ahead of me was a staircase, splitting the room into two main areas. On the left on the far back wall was a kitchen with a dining table and chairs towards the wall closest to me. On the right hand side were two single beds and a separate chest of drawers and a few potted plants. Sat at the dining table, a woman and man were discussing about goodness knows what. The woman was fairly large in build and the man was a lot smaller in comparison, with a strong well-built face.

The girl was standing in the kitchen when they turned to look at me. The woman gave me a wide smile while the man seemed to almost look through me. The woman introduced herself as Vesta and that she was the farm's owner and lived here with her brother Marlin, who looked away when I looked at him to register it in my mind. The girl who had been busying herself in the kitchen turned to me and explained that her name was Celia and that she worked for them. She offered me a cup of tea and some biscuits as Vesta invited me to sit at the table. Taking her offer I did so as Vesta began to explain to me that they ran an arable farm and I quickly acknowledged the pride she had for establishment.

As I drank the lovely hot tea Celia had made, Vesta explained to me lots of different information about raising crops and occasionally Celia would chip in to make listening easier to bear. It was hard to keep track of so many pieces of information but I was somehow able to keep up. Marlin in the meantime had been keeping his eyes slyly on Celia. It was clear that he had at least some romantic feelings for her.

I had been listening to Vesta's tutorial for a few hours when Celia had finally made it clear that I would have other things to do. I really didn't have much I could do, but she probably knew that you only listen to a person solidly for so long. Thanking them for their kind hospitality, I said goodbye before analysing my situation. I had met three people who in business terms were very important to know. But I didn't know very much about the valley itself. Looking back towards the more habited areas of the valley I took notice of the tall building I had noted last night. I made my way back and being extremely careful when walking over the bridge again.

At the front of the building I snuck in through the wooden double doors and a rush of warm air surrounded me. What a wonder feeling, was the first thing that passed through my mind, but it made me realise just how cold I was. Looking around it sunk in that this was the valley's inn. Facing me at the far back wall in the centre of the room was a long desk with a large closed book and on the right was a small bell with a mat in the middle of desk where someone would seemingly stand. Very close on my right were some stairs and on the back walls were two doors. By the left was a young woman who looked a similar age to Celia with short red hair who hadn't noticed me and seemed to be in a daydream with a door near to her. On the right side of the desk was another door. As I took a short moment to find the feeling in my toes, the woman soon looked up at me and looked towards the door on the right side of the room.

"My name's Nami," she said out of nowhere as I started walking to the door.

"Umm, Hollie," I said softly in return. She nodded before leaning back against the wall, seemingly ignoring the sofa not far in front of her against the wall.

I walked towards the door turning the handle and hesitantly stepping through the doorway, being greeted by the scent of home cooking and an even warmer feeling against my frozen cheeks. It was clearly the inn's kitchen, and a woman with black hair and tanned skin wearing a cooking apron had her back turned to me was busy until she turned to look at me as I closed the door behind me. In the middle of the room was a long dining table. At the corner of my eye something caught my attention, a young man was sat on the very right side of the table with his head down with his brown fringe covering the top half of his face. I swallowed back any form of a squeak when it registered in my head. _He was the guy who caught me._ The lady quickly distracted me as she walked around the opposite side of the table to greet me.

"You must be our new resident, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Ruby and I run the inn here," she said shaking my hand as I tried to regain some level of composure. "Hollie isn't it?"

"Umm, yea. It's a pleasure to meet you," I answered after catching my breath. She had a strong handshake, but it didn't seem very intimidating because of the reassuring smile that accompanied it.

"Please take a seat and warm up. Would you like some help with your coat?" Ruby continued, helping me after I nodded and had managed to co-ordinate my fingers enough to undo the buttons. She took my coat and scarf and hung them up on a rack where two aprons were also hung up. I took a seat as Ruby walked back round the table to the kitchen counters giving the daunting explanation that Takakura had been talking non-stop about me, and what a lovely person I was. Only one thought ran through my head: Dad, you're in big trouble. "Ah, let me introduce this lovely young man here. This is Cliff, he lives in Mineral Town but comes by most Saturdays to visit."

As she spoke I looked at the young man sat less than a couple of feet away from me. He had lifted his head up a little and the soft purple colour of his eyes flashed reflected from the ceiling light above. He smiled nervously at me. I smiled in return and he darted his head down but not before I could see a hint of pink in his cheeks.

'He seems like such a sweet guy,' I thought immediately, before mentally snapping at myself. I had never had thoughts like this before. 'Maybe I'm overtired?'

"Please excuse me for a moment you two, I'm just going to find my son and see if I can get him to do something around here for once," Ruby said breaking the silence as she darted round the table and out the door I had come in by.

Silence filled the room, and it gave me too many opportunities to think about things. I wasn't sure if it was because the ovens were so hot that my face felt warm, but it felt like something new had overwhelmed me suddenly.

"I'm sorry I scared you last night," Cliff finally said. It was so strange. His voice was deep and masculine, but it didn't have that usual sense of arrogance like other guys I had met. He sounded sincere and concerned. Looking at him he had a small smile which extended through from the slightly blush that was still on his face and reflected in his beautiful eyes.

"Don't be, I was just a little surprised that's all," I said smiling. I took a moment to collect my thoughts and to try and remember how to speak. "Anyway, I should be the one thanking you, you did get me out a pretty dangerous situation back there."

"It was because of me you tripped," he added in a slightly softer voice. It made my chest ache a little. He seemed so guilty. I shook my head with a wider smile.

"That bridge was really icy anyway. I could have slipped whether it was because you surprised me or if you didn't. If I had slipped and you hadn't been there, something bad could have happened," I protested, laughing slightly trying to mask the scary thought.

Cliff smiled a little wider before looking down. The blush had deepened and I couldn't resist a smile. "The important thing is you're not hurt…"

It took a moment for the words to settle in. It wasn't fair, my heart was beating like I had ran a marathon and my facing was burning like I had a deathly fever, my hands were shaking nervously, but I pulled my jumper's sleeves to hide them. I had never smiled so honestly before.

There were a few moments of silence before Cliff looked up at me again. "Umm, I'm afraid I'm not very good at talking to people. So, umm, I'm sorry I'm not that interesting," he murmured keeping his head tucked as low as possible without trying to appear rude.

"I don't think you're boring or anything," I said quietly, pressing my scrunched up sleeves against my mouth nervously as I looked at him. He didn't seem to believe, but he lifted his head up again with more confidence and smiled again before leaning his elbows on the table.

"I… I really appreciate you saying that," he said. His voice was a little shaky, but I just smiled as reassuringly as possible. He took a moment just staring at me, before biting his lip and taking a deep breath. "Is it alright if I ask you a couple of questions? I'm not really sure I could ask anyone else."

"Sure," I answered quickly turning my body to face him.

"You just moved here right? I know this might be difficult to answer since you haven't been here long, but did you feel lonely at all when you first got here? Maybe I'm prying too much, but why did you move here? Sorry if that's a little… weird," he asked, continuing as I nodded attentively.

"Umm, I guess at first I wasn't so lonely because Takakura took care of me to make sure I was okay. But I did feel quite lonely after I had gotten ready for bed and when I woke up this morning. I'm not used to the idea of living on my own. There's usually a lot of noise since I have a busy family," I answered thoughtfully. I wanted to mention that last night's incident also had an impact, but I was sure he had heard more than enough on the subject. "As for why I moved here… Well there are a number of reasons really. My dad bought the land years back with Takakura who's a really close friend of his. They never really made use of the land, and my two brothers haven't shown any interest in making use of the land. I wanted to take on the land and turn it into something productive, rather than just sit ignored. I also wanted to be somewhere where there's lots of fresh clear air. This seemed like the opportunity to get just that."

For a moment he just sat there watching me thoughtfully before smiling at me. He was about the speak when we were both distracted by muffled yelling which quickly became clear when the door opened behind us. Ruby stormed into the room rubbing her forehead and continuing her work at the kitchen counter, at the same time having an argument with a blond haired boy who followed in behind her rummaging through the fridge.

"Oh Hollie, this is my son Rock," Ruby finally said looking over her shoulder at me. "And Rock don't just help yourself, do something useful!"

"Oh come on Mum, I'm hungry and haven't had breakfast yet," the boy shouted not even looking at his Mum. After a moment of rummaging he turned around to look me when he stopped mid-step. He looked me up and down before grinning to himself. "Mum, you never told me that a girl was moving to the valley. A pretty one, too."

I wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to pull, but it was enough to force me to roll my eyes and sigh. Ruby reintroduced me emphasising that he had to be respectful to me. It fell on deaf ears.

"So Hollie, I'm guessing that since you're here alone that you'll need company, right? I'm more than willing to be that company." I was starting to feel nauseas. He spoke with an over-confident tone and smiled like he had practised for way too many hours than a person should. As he spoke, he sat himself beside me, leaning as close to me that I thought he was going to kiss me right there and then. It felt so weird, and I couldn't even find a way to speak to refuse.

Though I wasn't going to let him do anything. I instinctively moved backwards to get away, not realising how far to the edge of the seat I was. I was beginning to lose my balance when a soft pressure nudged me back onto my seat again. I looked to the side of me where Cliff was leaning in close with his left armed extended around my lower back. Our faces were extremely close, but it didn't feel so weird as when he was this close to me. It was awkward, yes, but I felt safe. The pit of my stomach was in leaps and bounds as it sunk in how close we were.

"A-are you ok?" Cliff asked as he pulled away to sit how had been originally. I just nodded and he smiled reassuringly at me.

When I looked back at Rock, –while debating whether or not to say anything about how he was acting– he had moved back into his seat with a childish pout on his face. At the same time, Ruby was scolding him again and after sitting there Rock got up and walked out the room huffing and puffing. Ruby quickly apologised for Rock had treated me.

"I-it's no problem really. Just not what you expect when you first meet someone, you know," I said trying to laugh it off, but my mind was stuck on Cliff. This was crazy, I never acted like this before. "Anyway, I shouldn't hang around too long. There are lots of people to meet."

"All right, well take care of yourself," Ruby said as she helped me get my coat back on, telling me that if I wanted I could come back later to eat, and gave the typical sentiment that I'm still a growing girl and should take care of myself. I thanked her for the offer before bidding goodbye and shyly exchanging smiles with Cliff before leaving the inn.

Outside the inn, I inhaled a few deep breaths trying to clear my head, before wrapping my scarf over my nose to protect it from the bitter cold wind. Looking around I thought about where I should go. Before I could make a decision, I heard yelling from my right side. I followed the sound back onto the main path. Along the right hand side were three houses lined facing towards the path. A single smaller building with an inn sign with "Blue Bar" on it stood on the left side. What caught my attention was Rock and a young woman stood at the bottom of a hill that curved to the left past the furthest house. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was definitely an argument. After about a minute and a half, the girl pointed in the direction where I was stood and sent Rock walking away who had a confused and put-down expression on his face. About five feet away from me he noticed me and as he passed I could see from the corner of my eye that was scanning my body. Again. I clenched my hands and just breathed out heavily. It wasn't worth the time to pick a fight about it. I looked back up when I had composed myself to find the girl staring at, then gesturing me to talk to her. I did so.

"Did he try asking you on a date or something?" she asked with a bitter tone.

"Not exactly. I'm guessing he asks a lot of girls out?" I said, trying to smile as calmly as possible.

"You could say that," she said before pulling herself together and smiling at me. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Lumina, I live at the villa here. I'm guessing you just moved here?"

"Umm, yea. I'm Hollie, nice to meet you," I replied smiling wider.

"Likewise. I hope we can be good friends. I'm sorry if I seemed a little, umm, grumpy just a second ago," she said tilting her head a little with a giggle.

"It's fine, I kinda know how you feel," I said, about to explain my story, when a man's voice called out Lumina's name from behind her.

An elderly looking man was walking as quickly as possible down the hill with a coat folded over his left arm. Lumina turned to look at him, as I took a chance to see the beautiful villa looming in front of me. It was massive, and the spray of a fountain could just be seen in front of the large white gates that extended down the hill towards us.

"Sebastian, what's wrong?" Lumina asked, stepping towards him, eying the coat.

"Lumina, you shouldn't go out without your coat on. You'll get sick," the man scolded her, opening the coat to put it on her. Lumina just sighed.

"You don't need to worry about me so much. Besides, I was only going to be out for a minute," Lumina said, causing the man to groan.

"No matter, you should be more mindful of your health. Please don't be so reckless," he continued to say, before stopping to look at me. He adjusted himself to face directly at me. "Ah, you must be the new resident. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sebastian, the butler at the villa here."

"This is Hollie," Lumina said before I could speak. "Hollie, would you like to come to the villa and have some tea and some snacks?"

I didn't really have much of a choice. Lumina grabbed my hand and pulled me up the hill telling me that the villa belonged to her grandmother Romana, who she apparently called Auntie because she wasn't allowed to address her as her grandmother. I simply smiled and listened as Sebastian explained when he opened the large beautiful double doors of the villa that Lady Romana wasn't in the right mood to talk to any company because Dr. Hardy –Forget-Me-Not Valley's only doctor– had arranged a house call.

"Auntie doesn't like house calls because she takes offence that people thinks she's old," Lumina explained giggling as she sat me down on the regal looking sofa in the left hand side of the large open foyer. Sebastian had already excused himself to make the tea and prepare snacks. It was amazing just how grand the villa was not just outside, but even more so on the inside.

On the opposite side room was a fantastic looking grand piano, and Lumina explained to me that her grandmother always sat her at the piano most mornings and she would play. I couldn't help but smile. Five minutes later, Sebastian returned with a tray with a large teapot, two matching cups and three small plates of biscuits of different kinds. I felt severely spoilt. Sebastian poured tea for Lumina and myself before excusing himself again to assist the lady of the house.

For a few hours Lumina and I chatted about music, after she had asked questions about what my life was like before moving here and what kind of people I knew. It felt strangely easy to talk to her. I explained that I lived in on the outskirts of the city with my parents and brothers, and that I went to a community school and finished my A levels a year early as a part of an unusual test that the government had quietly been running about the capability of students' intellect and whether it correlated with their home life or the school they were taught in. Lumina then followed on the talk about the valley in great detail, about the large waterfall that flowed down to the ocean at the bottom of the valley and how beautiful the ocean was in the summer when the weather was warm.

"There's also the Goddess Spring near your farm, it's really beautiful, especially in the spring when the flowers are just beginning to bloom. It's really magical in the evenings too," Lumina explained with a wide smile. "You should really see it, it's breath taking."

I nodded with an equally wide smile. It took a minute for me to realise just how serious Lumina was when she stood up and grabbed my hand dragged me back down the hill, following the main path and stopping just in front of my farm. I took a moment to catch my breath as she pointed up the river where a path stemmed and followed the river upstream. She nudged me in the direction of the where she had pointed and I slowly walking my way up the path, listening to the sound of the river. My mind was still a bit scrambled as I tried to pull together what had just happened. I was sure I was having a peaceful conversation, but now I'm back in the cold? It didn't really matter as I gawked at the towering waterfall ahead of me. I could barely muster a "wow" when a figure sat on the cold ground.

"I-it's beautiful isn't it?" a familiar man's voice asked. Why on Earth Cliff was sat there in the freezing cold I will never understand, but I just smiled and nodded in agreement. He shuffled his body over a little and patted the ground and turning away a little. "You c-can join me, if you'd like."

I grinned and took a seat next to him. "Aren't you cold?" I asked raising my eyebrow, as I tucked my legs up to my body tightly, resting my head on my knees.

"A little, but it's good to get fresh air," he answered with a slight grin. I smiled back. "Getting to know the area?"

"Yea. It's really beautiful here," I said, looking at the waterfall. "Have you been living in Mineral Town long?"

"Not very long. I moved here around the beginning of summer this year."

"I hope I don't sound rude asking so many questions, but is there any particular reason you visit the valley?" I hesitated to ask. I felt so curious to know more about Cliff. He seemed so kind and gentle that something in my mind was desperately wishing I could be his friend.

"I don't know really. I just like the change of scenery," he answered, always keeping his eyes looking at mine. I had lifted my head a little from a slight neck ache, and nodded thoughtfully as he spoke. He continued to stare at me and I felt my face heating up. I could never handle being the centre of attention.

"Umm, is there something on my face?" I said laughing half-heartedly, poking and brushing my face with a bit of a panic for whatever could have been there.

"No, there's nothing on your face, I was just thinking…" he said quickly. He looked away in thought for a few seconds then looked back. "I really hope this doesn't sound weird, but I'm kind of grateful that I saw you last night. I'm really shy and useless at talking to girls. I guess you probably wouldn't know I existed otherwise."

"It's fine, really." I said, a little shocked. "I would never have guessed that you were shy. I mean, it's not exactly expected that someone would jump in and help someone like that when you first meet them, so I figured it was natural you might be uncomfortable. Besides, I could say the same thing: if I hadn't have been in trouble, you probably wouldn't have known I existed. And I'm not all that great at talking to people I don't know well either."

"I would never have guessed," Cliff laughed before turning to silence. "I-I really am grateful that I met you." He paused for a moment and sucked in a deep breath. "For some reason, talking to you seems a lot less difficult than when other girls try and talk to me. So, umm, thanks." He tucked his head down a little so his fringe was covering the top of his face blushing deeply.

After his words had settled in firmly in head, I could only smile. My heart was beating so fast I was certain it would break out of my chest. I could feel my face burning as red as his probably was. My hands were beginning to shake and I pulled my legs as tight as I could to my chest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **I finally managed to finish an update. I think I need to mention that although my username has changed, I promise this is still the same author. I changed it to protect my identity since the internet can be a dangerous place. With that quickly mentioned, I hope this chapter is enjoyable, since it certainly was to write. I wasn't sure initially how to write the New Year's sequence, whether to make it somewhat eventful or have 'snuggle up in bed thoughtfully' kind of scene. You can probably guess already what I decided. I'd also like to say thank you for the reviews so far, they're extremely encouraging and motivating, and your constructive thoughts will be greatly appreciated. I have to admit that writing a fiction about Cliff is really interesting, since without him even saying much, his body language says heaps. Enough of my excuses, I hope this chapter is enjoyable and worth the wait.

* * *

As promised, Mum called me later that evening after I got home. I took Ruby's offer to eat dinner with her and it felt like everyone I met had spoilt me thoroughly the entire day. Mum being Mum, her immediate questions were about boys. She knew all too well I wasn't all that interested in boys or dating, or gossip. That was her department (minus the dating part). I was very much Mum's spitting image, long brunette hair down to our shoulder blades (mine was a little longer than hers), a petite body and hazel eyes. Only she had a side parting for her fringe, while mine was more feathery with a centre parting. Mum always made a fuss when people asked us if we were sisters when we were walking in the city together. I never understood why she cared so much: I either looked considerably old for my age, or Mum looks extremely young. I assume the latter since she still gets asked for ID when buying wine, and, as much as I hate to admit it, people have mistaken me for being fourteen. After the joking had been put aside, she asked me about how I had been coping with eating, meeting new people and whether I was stressed, among a few other things. I answered them all with honesty. I was a horrible liar anyway so there wasn't any point trying to get anything past her. You would have assumed I was just having a normal teenage chat when Mum asked me about the boy I had encountered.

Dad clearly didn't keep quiet.

It took me a moment to compose myself, biting my lip a few times and clinging uncomfortably to my light blue pyjama bottoms as I sat crossed legged at the bottom of my bed twirling the phone cord as it bridged myself to the chest of drawers where the phone was close to falling off of. I explained carefully everything I had told Dad trying to avoid saying anything that could provoke Mum's imagination in a 'suggestive' way. That was another difference between us; I was almost saintly compared to her. My friends' words. When I updated her about how I had learnt his name and a bit more about him her tone seemed to fall. Another "innocent soul" rather than someone who she would have considered more exciting. I scolded her thoroughly; that he wasn't boring in any way and that I was relieved he wasn't some sort of pervert or manipulative so-and-so who would try to seek some kind of repayment from me.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

For another half an hour she teased me over and over about my newly found love, claiming in her teacher tone that defending him was a sign of protecting him, and therefore an act of affection. I should have seen it coming.

I'm not exactly sure how the topic shifted but Mum finally stopped teasing me and told me that she was relieved to know I was ok, but Tyler was almost bouncing off the walls in a state of worry and handed the phone to him so he could hear my voice. I had never smiled so much during a phone call before. It was a mere case of repeating –yet again- what I have already told my parents but with "yes I'm sure" at the end of every sentence. I was relieved to know that Tyler was no different from usual even though I wasn't living at home anymore. I eventually managed to shift the subject to how his day was. He told me about the adventure movie he went to see with his two best friends from school and that I probably would have liked it, though I probably would have said it was too predictable. I smiled, Mum taught many subjects, mostly English and Media Studies, but she studied film at university and often told me interesting facts, which often rubbed off when I watched films. Plus I had studied film at 6th form only recently so I was even more judgemental. Tyler laughed down the phone as I listed all the typical narrative plots from memory.

I eventually hung up the phone after exchanging a "good night" from everyone in my family. When I leaned over the bed to put the phone back I stared for a moment. I smiled and positioned myself in bed and pulled the duvet over me. I lay my head back on my pillows and closed my eyes.

When I woke in the morning, I quickly rummaged through my chest of drawers (after I remembered my clothes were in there) and pulled out a t-shirt, woolly jumper and the warmest pair of jeans I could find. I grabbed a pair of thermal socks and pulled them on and dragged my feet to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I didn't feel particularly hungry, though if I were to step back into the inn again I think my mind would be telling me a different story. As I was pulling my walking boots on, I looked towards the front door where I was sure I could hear knocking. Opening the door and rubbing my eyes when the sun shone in my eyes, Celia stood in front of me with her chirpy smile before saying "good morning" in an equally chirpy voice. I greeted her in return with less enthusiasm, holding back a yawn.

"Hollie, today everyone in the valley is going over to Mineral Town for the New Year's festivities. I was wondering if you would join us?" she said. By "us" I assumed she meant herself, Vesta and Marlin. I nodded with a smile and her eyes lit up. "Great! Every year Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town take turns to host festivals since we rely on each other a lot for business and such. This year Mineral Town hosted all the events."

I nodded and she smiled before gesturing to go. I grabbed my coat, scarf, gloves and house keys and locked the front door. I followed Celia to the front of Vesta's farmhouse where the two adults were just leaving the farmhouse and wrapping themselves tighter in their coats. Vesta greeted me with an energetic "good morning" while Marlin raised his head slightly to let me know he wasn't ignoring me. I did the same since he wouldn't have been able to see a smile underneath my scarf that tickled my nose. As we walked over Mother Hill, Celia gave me brief explanations about all the different businesses in Mineral Town I had passed on my way here. She told me about the blacksmith, the vineyard, the supermarket, the inn and a few others. Celia continued to explain that a lot of the younger adults from Mineral Town tend to visit the valley on their days off from work.

As we walking downhill on the other side of the mountain Celia often grabbed my arm as we helped balance each other and avoid slipping on the black ice where the snow had melted and refrozen. Marlin often walked ahead of us, but the frequent times he looked over his shoulder at the brunette who clutched onto me desperately confirmed my thoughts that he wasn't the gruff man he tries to present himself as. I turned my attention back to the area of the snow-covered path ahead of feet as the two of us quick baby steps to make as much progress as possible down the hill. It was hard work but the amount of laughing and giggling from the two of us made it difficult to notice. Once we were finally on flat land in Mineral Town on the edge of the forest, Celia released her surprisingly strong grip from my upper arm before walking a little faster ahead of me to show me the way, ignoring the two adults who watched her carefully.

In Mineral Town itself it seemed a different sight from what I had seen in the early sunset a couple of days ago. The buildings were the same but they seemed prettier in the sunlight now that it was close to eleven o'clock. We passed the two farms on either side of us and passed through Rose Square where I took note of the exit where I walked across the freezing beach from the port. We walked to the opposite exit of where we entered. Ahead of us was a tall Chapel that looked like it must have been at least three hundred years old. We took a left before a short way before the corner where the Chapel stood where large building stood with empty plant pots and chalkboard stood. We all stepped inside and stomped the snow off our boots as a warm rush of air greeted us against our cheeks. We gradually pulled our coats and scarves off. I deliberately waited until my hands were warmer before I even thought of about taking my gloves off. My poor fingers.

Vesta and Marlin walked off to a separate area of the large room as Celia led me to the left. The room was a scattered with round tables for four, with a set of stairs on the far left corner of the room. A door to the back of the building stood next to it with cabinets of drinks and glasses on the right along the wall. In front a long horizontal wooden counter with bar stools stood about seven feet away from the far wall. On the far right of the room on the counter was a telephone with a jar half full of coins. There was a gap where a cash register sat facing away from the main area of the room.

As Celia me led to the side I caught sight of a tall man with a baseball hat covering a masculine looking face with fiery red hair. His hat had the letters "UMA" along the front. The letters didn't ring a bell as to what they stood for though I could only hazard a guess it was a sports team. He was wearing grey overalls and brown walking boots and stared at me with his dark blue eyes for a moment as Celia introduced the man as being the blacksmith in town called Gray. He tipped his head a little with a small attempt at a smile as Celia introduced me.

"You must be the new farmer I've heard a lot about," he said with more of a grin as he grinned over his shoulder.

I stared in the direction he was gesturing to and caught my breath as a certain man sat at a table by himself with his head tucked low to avoid being bothered. He peered over his shoulder at us before immediately looking away again. I bit my lip when my breath returned and felt heat intrude on my face. Gray grinned wider at me as a redheaded girl with a long plait, wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue dungarees interrupted my thoughts, scolding him in a playful tone. She quickly turned her attention back to me.

"By the way, my name's Ann, I'm the daughter of the man who runs this inn," she said smiling widely. "My dad told me that he'd heard you were a really nice person so I've been looking forward to meet you. I've heard other stories from other sources too." She looked at Gray shortly and cocked her head over her shoulder at Cliff. My face continued to burn up against my will. She turned back to me before grinning again. "I visit the valley on Friday's. The innkeeper there helps me improve my cooking skills. You're here for the festivities right, you should come along with me since my Dad has to stay here to take care of the inn."

I smiled as naturally as I could and nodded at her offer. She offered me a seat at the table we were stood next to and dashed off to make tea. Gray then sat on the table opposite me with his body turned slightly away from me at the table where I had been trying hard to keep eyes away from.

"By the way, Celia may have said I was blacksmith, but I'm only an apprentice. My gramps is my boss," Gray then said distracting me again. "I can't guarantee my work will be of much use to you but I'll my best."

I smiled at him and he stared at me as if he'd seen a ghost before nervously turning his head in a similar direction to where his body was facing. For a moment I couldn't understand why he was smirking until I followed where his eyes were looking and it seemed to fit into place. My nerves started to cause a mess in my stomach. It was the 'I know something you don't know' look with a combination of 'you're totally right'. I wasn't sure what he was confirming but I tried to maintain a smile and broke the silence by moving the subject back to Gray's job. I asked him questions like whether he liked his job and what he liked about it. He stared at me in wonder for a second.

"Well yea, of course I like my job or I wouldn't stay would I? It doesn't help my old man gives me stick all the time for the little things and doesn't say a good word when I get things right." He stared at me for a moment as I took his words in.

"Well I'm sure you are good at your job," I said sitting upright, trying to avoid grinning at the shocked expression on his face. "I mean, if you were really no good at your job your grandfather would probably find someone else since he has to maintain his business right? Just because he doesn't say it out loud or gives you hassle all the time doesn't mean you're bad at your job, does it? In a way the fact he keeps pushing you so hard is his own way of supporting you."

The shocked expression remained on his face for about ten seconds before he just shrugged it off and grumbled that his gramps is just a tired, grumpy old man. I couldn't hold back laughing at his remark, and Gray quickly returned a thankful grin as he lifted his head up leaning with his elbow on the table and his chin slightly perched in his palm. From the corner of my eye I caught Cliff biting back a smile. I couldn't see much of his face but it made me feel warmer inside.

"You know, I heard you were moving from the city so I half-expected you to be kind of arrogant or something. But you're really nice. We get people from the city visit all the time and you just know they're thinking we're just stupid country-folk or something. That old man Takakura was right about you," Gray said catching my attention again. A deep wave of insecurity washed over me, which must have been evident on my face as Gray barely held back laughing at me. "What're you so worried about?"

Ann came back with a tray with a small tea set and poured the tea as I remembered how to breathe.

"Is that Takakura you're on about?" she asked quickly and all my efforts at self-control disappeared. "He's barely stopped talking about you when he stopped by the past few weeks. Always saying how you're really clever and such."

"Did we say too much?" Gray then asked as I was taking my teacup when I had pulled my gloves off.

I took a sip before sighing over the cup. "It's fine, its just evidence that I need to give my Dad a little piece of my mind." I sighed again. "He's probably waiting for me to figure it out."

The two redheads snickered to each other teasing that I could have a dark streak under the perfect daughter image Takakura had been boasting about. I continued to sip at the hot tea as I tried to calm myself.

"Still, as long as he hasn't said anything weird about me, I can't complain too much." I said wrapping my fingers as tightly as I could around the side of the cup.

"Why you got anything to hide?" Ann teased, sticking her tongue out at me as I tried to defend myself with useless stutters.

Gray and I continued to talk for a few more hours, with Ann dipping in and out of the conversation between serving customers, while being shouted at by her Dad Doug who took a moment to introduce himself and give his own 'Takakura speaks well of you' speech which naturally caused me to feel embarrassed. For a short while it felt strange, I thought it would awkward meeting people today, but I think I found some good friends in Ann and Gray. I felt almost completely at ease talking to them, not ignoring another friend who exchanged slightly encouraging glances with me. Ann didn't seem to notice it, but Gray seemed to be more than aware that I didn't want Cliff to be left out, and wouldn't often find a reason to tease me so I would grin and stumble over my words to find a comeback. It was irritating to have no ammunition to use, but I didn't mind too much. I felt so relived that I wasn't left feeling lonely like I had expected.

At around half five, Ann pulled me by my arm and we got ourselves wrapped up to go out into the cold. Gray excused himself saying he didn't go to many festivals and when Ann turned to ask Cliff it seemed he had already made his own way judging by his absence. Ann turned around and shrugged her shoulders saying that maybe he had walked on ahead to meet us there. I wasn't sure the last part was entirely true.

Walking along the frosty paths, Ann and I gripped each other's arms as we did our best to avoid slipping our way through Rose Square. Ahead of us, Celia was walking alongside Vesta and Marlin not far behind a small crowd of other people. Ann explained to me that every year the mayor and a few others helped make homemade buckwheat noodles for everyone to eat, and it had become quite traditional that the mayor would make far too much so everyone would take some ingredients home. Ann then mentioned how she was ready to eat eight, even twelve portions and still have room for more. I grinned, thinking I would probably be safer shimmying my bum down the steps to the beach, as the icy steps seemed to sparkle tauntingly at me.

On the beach the vast area was scattered with small groups of people and towards the dock a long wooden table with an equally long tablecloth. Across the table were empty bowls and hidden out the way by a wooden hut near the docking area were people preparing the noodles. Ann licked her lips eagerly when it caught her attention and chuckled at me when she realised I had noticed the expression on her face. We stood and talked for a couple of hours as people continued to mingle, and Ann introduced me the daughter of the owners of the supermarket in town, a tall, slim-built woman with brunette hair called Karen. We talked for a little while and she explained that Celia had told her about me a little earlier, and that she was good friends with her.

The festivities began not long later after Karen dismissed herself to go back to her family. The entire beach seemed to liven up even though people spent more time eating as we waited for midnight to creep closer. Ann proved just how much of an appetite she had, as she was ready to beg for more, and finished off my portion without hesitation. When the clock did strike midnight, some of the crowds began to disperse, desperate to go to bed. Ann explained that anyone who wanted to see the sunrise were probably at the peak of Mother Hill with whoever they wanted to see it with. It wasn't long after many people had left that Celia ran up to me saying that they were planning on heading back to the valley soon. I nodded saying how it was probably going to be tiring walk back so I made my way back up the stones with her where Marlin and Vesta were waiting.

Along the way when we were preparing to climb the mountain again, Celia pulled me close to her by my arm and whispered in my ear with a casual tone that it seemed I had been kept a close eye on by someone. She quickly teased me that two days living here and I was already popular. I laughed along but my thoughts were placed on who I thought that person was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: **And another update! Yay, more consistency! I'm hoping this story will be just as, if not more, successful than my other stories so far. I've worked really hard for this chapter, and proof read it a few times. If there mistakes, my sincerest apologies. Anyway, I hope this chapter is one to really make you smile. I intentionally tried to create a fluffy atmosphere for a number or reasons.

* * *

Sitting up in bed, I rubbed my eyes, pulling my legs to sit cross-legged in the middle of my bed. Looking around the room, everything was quiet. This wasn't too big a surprise to me, but I couldn't help but feel unsettled. After taking a moment to let the blood rush out of my head, to the point that I could sit upright without toppling slightly, I dragged myself out of bed and slowly made my way to the chest of drawers, pulling open each of the drawers enough to see some of the contents in each of them. As I scanned the different colours of clothes in each drawer, I realised that I wasn't shivering. I looked out the window above my bed and I could see blue blending with white. I smiled. Spring had arrived.

Still smiling, I pulled out a lilac t-shirt and a darker purple cardigan and tossed them onto the bed. Closing the drawer with a thud, I grabbed a pair of dark navy skinny jeans and rushed to change into them. I had showered before going to bed, despite the extreme exhaustion from the walk home and the late hour that we got back to the valley. Pulling my boots on, I eyed the rucksack sat by the trunk.

'Today I'll finally be making a start on my new life,' I thought with an eager smile.

I grabbed the rucksack and pulled one of the straps over my shoulder. Opening the trunk with a groan, I pulled the two bags of turnip seeds out from the bottom and held them by the strings that tied them closed in a knot.

As I was about to leave the house, the phone rang, and with a smile still plastered on my face, I could predict who would be calling so early.

"Happy New Year!" a chorus of four voices, mostly male, said in unison.

"Happy New Year," I answered, holding back giggles. My family was too predictable.

"Did you sleep well?" Tyler's sleepy voice asked. In the background I could hear arguing voices and shouting.

"Yea, considering what little sleep I had," I answered. In all honesty, I had only really napped for just less than three hours.

"Don't push yourself too hard, okay? I guess you'll be starting work now though," Tyler said, using his 'big brother' tone that I just rolled my eyes to.

"I won't, I won't," I said laughing.

After some time, I had managed to speak to everyone in the family who gave their own new year's wishes and lecture not to do anything reckless. I was beginning to believe they didn't trust me.

Putting the phone down, I left the house, locking the door with the house key that had been left on the nightstand and put it safely in my trouser pocket. Walking around the side of the house, it was strange just how quickly the seasons seemed to change here. Less than six hours earlier, the ground was hard, and snow lay in heaps. But looking around my feet and across the expansive field, the ground had begun to soften, and although some snow remained, large spots of brown soil and shrivelled grass were peeping out from underneath the melting blanket that had covered it.

After deciding on a spot midway into the field where the snow had melted, I took the hoe out of the rucksack and began preparing the soil. I felt relieved that the air still had a slight chill, since I couldn't feel myself sweating as much as I thought I would.

When the soil had been sown over, I took the bags of seeds out of the rucksack, pulling the string so the knot became loose. Kneeling in the ground, I poured the seeds into the treated soil until both bags were empty. Taking the green watering can, I filled it up at the watering hole. Like an excited child, I poured the water over the seeds and the soil with a grin.

With work now finished, I walked round the front of the house, and left my tools by the trunk and took half an hour to clean myself up in the bathroom. After relocking the house, I left the farm. The entire valley seemed to have changed so much. Although the trees lacked leaves, the ground had begun to show some sort of sign that ground laid beneath the slushy snow that couldn't fight the warmer air. I could finally see the wooden surface of the bridge, and the banks of the river were more visible than before.

While thinking about what to do first, I was distracted as Lumina's voice stole my attention from the back of the inn. She was stood with Rock, who I assumed had upset her again. She had her back to me, with her shoulders tense. Rock quickly noticed me watching, and didn't bother to disguise a grin. Lumina turned her attention to me, sending Rock away before I could hear what they had fought about this time.

"Happy New Year, Hollie," Lumina said with a half-hearted smile.

"Happy New Year," I said with a more enthusiastic smile. "Should I ask?"

"Ah, I caught Rock flirting with a girl who's staying with her family at the inn. I guess she's on a New Year's break here since I don't recognise her. He really has some nerve. He convinced me last night before the festival started that he was going to stop flirting with girls and prove that I could trust him," Lumina sighed, rubbing her head. "I just don't understand why I bother sometimes."

"Then why do you?" I asked, trying to smile as reassuringly as possible. I couldn't personally understand why Lumina liked him. Rock to me, was some sort of flirt who clearly can't keep his attention fixed on one person for any length of time before moving on the next. Lumina stared at me for a moment with a look of disbelief. After a second, she breathed out softly with a small smile.

"When we were kids, we used to get along. Even though he teased me all the time about liking him, he always had his attention on me. I could tell him stories and we'd search for the Harvest Goddess together, and he would never look for others to spend time with when he was with me," Lumina said, her smile increasing more and more as she spoke. But her expression quickly fell. "But as we grew up and became adolescents, he quickly became interested in talking to other girls. I accepted that, and I started talking to other people, but he looks at every girl with interest. It's painful to watch." Her expression remained one of hurt, until she looked at me. "I'm so sorry, putting my problems on you like that."

"No, it's fine," I said with a smile. "You're clearly more than just attracted to him."

"Ah yea. I am," Lumina said, blushing deeply as she giggled. Her expression turned more serious but she continued to smile at me. "Thank you. I know we've only known each for a little while, but I've never had someone I could really say those kinds of things out loud to."

I smiled more widely, and the happiness that warmed my chest radiated on my cheeks. I had been the secret keeper among my friends at school, purely because I lacked any interest in gossip that my friends knew I wouldn't share anything. Even though I was a useless liar, they knew I could think of ways to protect their secrets without ever making it really obvious if I knew anything.

"Would you like to come back to the villa for a while? A friend of mine comes over every Monday, and she seems like someone you'd get along really well with," Lumina said smiling.

"Sure." I grinned as I followed Lumina back to the villa.

When we arrived at the villa, Sebastian greeted us and took Lumina's cardigan, and then leaving for the kitchen to prepare tea and snacks. As we waited, a petite raven-haired girl wearing a modest blue dress with white sleeves with a long skirt peered through the double doors of the large villa before smiling shyly at Lumina and walking timidly over to the sofa and coffee table where we were sat.

"Happy New Year," Lumina said to the girl with a wide smile. "Hollie, this is Mary, she runs the library in Mineral Town. Mary, this is Hollie, she moved here a couple of days ago and lives on the old farm."

"It's nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"I-it's nice to meet you," Mary replied, her arms clutched close to her body, occasionally she would adjust the glasses as they slid down her nose when she looked at her feet. She then took a seat next to Lumina as Sebastian came in with a tray of teacups and biscuits.

"Good morning and happy new year, Miss," Sebastian said, setting out teacups in front of us each. Sebastian had clearly expected Mary to be arriving.

"Good morning, Sebastian," Mary replied with a sweet smile. Something about her seemed almost doll-like. I couldn't decide if it was her clothes or the pale skin complexion. She just had an air of delicacy about her that made me just want to be careful about how I spoke to her.

Sebastian poured us tea before excusing himself like before. We drank the tea and ate the different types of sweet biscuits. Lumina explained to me that her friendship with Mary went quite a way back and that they became friends during their pre teen years and she occasionally visits the library on days that Romana visits Mineral Town to see a friend of hers.

"It's always such a lovely surprise when Lumina visits me at the library," Mary began, smiling between nibbling the end of a biscuit. "Not many people come to the library apart from one young man who comes by occasionally after work."

"Really? I'm surprised. I find reading so relaxing," I said. I sipped the last dribble that was at the bottom of the cup and put it on its plate. "And who is it that visits you?"

"Is it Gray? He seems to visit you a lot more recently," Lumina cut in giggling, causing Mary to blush violently at his name. I smiled thoughtfully. I felt like a real teenager for just a moment, but it seemed like I finally had something I could bear in mind to use against that guy in future.

"Y-yes. And I don't think there's anything romantic about it," Mary stuttered, a look of disappointment in her eyes took away the healthy sparkle that had been there before. "We don't talk to each other much, if at all."

"You never know," I began. "It's always possible that even if he does visit to read, he's also happier being in your company."

"Ah, that's true," Lumina said, her face lighting up. "Besides, you could always make chances to talk by just greeting him and holding eye contact a bit more. He could be as nervous as you are. Oh yea, Hollie have you met Gray yet?"

"Yep," I said in a deep monotonous tone. All I could think about was Gray and Ann teasing me yesterday afternoon. "He seems like a nice guy, if you can get him to stop being too hard on himself."

"That sounds like him," Mary murmured, her mouth slightly pressed against the rim of her teacup. "He often reads books about ores and minerals, and occasionally he looks through the books about regaining self-confidence."

"So Hollie, met anyone who's caught your eye yet?" Lumina asked, after watching Mary's thoughtful expression for half a minute. We both knew she wasn't going to snap out of it for a little while. But it certainly snapped me out of my comfort zone. My surprised expression was enough to give her the answer. "Oh who is he? Is from the valley or Mineral Town?"

"I-I wouldn't say I'm definitely in love with him," I quickly said, taking a breath. "But I guess, I'm a little bit interested in getting to know a guy from Mineral Town I met a few evenings ago."

"Hehe, really? Who is it?" Lumina said, leaning closer to me as her curiosity grew.

"Is it Cliff?" Mary asked in a mumble, shocking us both. I could feel the surface of my cheeks burn bright red at the sound of his name. Her own expression quickly turned to one of shock. "Ah! I'm sorry, that was bold of me. I only guessed since Gray came by yesterday and the one day he did talk to me, he mentioned how his friend Cliff had met someone new and seemed to be a lot happier because of it. I don't know why, but it seemed maybe it was him that you meant."

The shock remained on my face for a few moments before I could remember how to relax. When my self-control returned I just smiled at her and nodded as the heat that was already on my face increased. The words took a moment to settle but certain words kept repeating themselves. 'Seemed a lot happier.' A strong pulse in my chest made me wish that it were true. I felt desperate for it to be true.

"Hollie, I'm sure you do make him happy," Lumina said, smiling thoughtfully at me. How on Earth could she tell I was thinking about that? "I certainly feel happier being around you, so I see no reason why he wouldn't be happier too."

Surprised, I let Lumina's kind words sink in. I couldn't hold back smiling, my hands trembling. "Lumina you're spoiling me," I finally said. I wanted to believe her words were true: that I could truly make someone happy, but something, and I couldn't figure out what, made me doubt myself.

Smiling kindly, Lumina changed the subject, telling Mary about how I had finished college despite being younger than most students. I didn't consider it entirely amazing that I had my education sorted out, but Mary just watched me as Lumina spoke with a curious smile, making her own generous comments. I had sacrificed all of my free time to study, and at a price, my social life had slipped away slowly. It made me feel guilty hearing people praise me for being so successful, when my friends had to pay the price of being rejected of my company. But at the same time, I always felt that was for the best, since I was never really part of the conversation much anyway.

After a while, Lumina invited us to watch her play piano for a few hours. Mary and I watched her in amazement. It clearly wasn't the first time Mary had heard her play, but she had a wondrous expression on her face that would have fooled you otherwise. For me, I was speechless. Lumina was clearly a talented musician. Her hands were able to glide over the ivory keys with ease, as if without much of thought, and the sound produced echoed around the large foyer magnificently. Lumina played a number of different pieces, varying from soft ballad pieces to playful pieces. There were times when I was convinced I didn't blink for twenty minutes at a time, because blinking would be wasting watching her play.

At around one o'clock she stopped playing. Lumina explained to me that there was another new years festival at the beach going on most of the day so people could exchange new years greetings and eat rice cakes. So with the assistance of Sebastian making sure Lumina was dressed appropriately to go outside, we got ourselves ready and made our way down to the beach. Unfortunately for my slightly nervous ego, Lumina teased me that I should make sure to talk to Cliff. I've begun to regret sharing that with her now.

At the beach, Mary froze as soon as –as Lumina and I immediately figured out- she had seen the blacksmith we had been talking to earlier. Unfortunately for my own self-composure, Mary wasn't the only one who froze when looking in the direction of the two white benches on the right hand side of us.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you two to it. There's someone here I need to talk to," Lumina said winking as she left.

'Lumina… you're so sly,' the little voice in my head cried.

Taking a deep breath I stood myself in front of Mary who looked like she about to shrivel up at any chance she could get.

"Mary, why don't we go talk to them? If you can start a conversation with Gray, you can make it clearer to him that you want to get to know him better," I said, gesturing slightly in their direction.

"Hollie… please don't make it too obvious we're talking about them," Mary squeaked grabbing my hand as I pointed in their direction. "I-I want to talk to him, but I don't know what I would say."

"It'll be fine, once you greet each other, I'll do my best to set up a chance for you to talk about something you're both interested in," I said, smiling as reassuringly as possible, but my mind was just as nervous and shaky as I knew she was feeling. "And don't worry, I'll make sure to stay with you so you won't be on your own."

"Y-you will?" Mary asked staring at me with desperation on her face. I smiled back at her and her expression eased a little.

After figuring out just where Gray had disappeared to, which was on the other side of the beach near where some beach mats and umbrellas had been left up in the sand near the ocean, we finally took our chance to approach him. Mary, clung to my arm with an unexpectedly iron grip as we walked up to him.

"Happy New Year, Gray," I said smiling widely as I tried to fight back a cringe as Mary's grip tightened the closer we were to him.

"Uh, Happy New Year," Gray shyly answered as his eyes caught sight of the timid girl who was trying to hide behind me. I could see his face start to change to different shades of pink. I smiled wider. _I definitely had ammunition now_. "W-what are you grinning at?"

"Nothing important," I said, trying to avoid grinning too mischievously at him. I turned myself to Mary trying to casually encourage her to come out from hiding. "I was just thinking that it was nice, Lumina and I were talking with Mary earlier about who I had met so far, so it was nice to meet people who have similar interests as me. Gray I never realised you liked reading."

"Umm, yea it relaxes me," Gray mumbled, slightly burying his face beneath the cap of his hat.

"H-Hollie said a similar thing earlier," Mary shyly murmured. I nodded and smiled in agreement. "Hollie, feel free to come by the library if you're ever in town. I would love to see what kind of books you like reading. Gray too… we occasionally get sent more books to replace the old ones…"

"Yea. That would be cool," Gray mumbled, rubbing his neck nervously. I smiled at Mary as she looked at me expectantly. As I did so, her grip on my arm loosened slightly and she stood a little further from me.

"A-actually, I'm supposed to be getting a small shipment on Wednesday… for a collection of mystery novels," Mary quietly added.

"That would be great," I said smiling eagerly. "Mystery novels are amazing to read. I love the enigma codes and plot devices. It always leaves me guessing, even if I think I have them figured out."

Mary smiled at me as I spoke, and from the corner of my eye I knew I wasn't the only one who was appreciating her smile.

"Mary, Hollie, there you are, sorry about leaving you a minute ago," Lumina's voice called from behind us. She joined us standing on my right side. "Afternoon Gray."

Gray nodded at her shyly, though her attention was fixed on Mary and myself. Mary shyly smiled at her friend as Lumina tried to convince me that she wanted to talk to Mary in private. Breathing out in relief, Gray lifted his head as I rubbed the sore spot on my left arm where Mary had held me tightly.

"Now what were you really grinning about," Gray questioned with a more menacing look on his face. His face was still pink.

"Nothing that important," I said, smiling sweetly before changing to a more mischievous one. "I just think it's sweet. You clearly think well of Mary, right? It's good to have friends."

"Be quiet," he pouted, grinning at me. "Anyway, I know you're desperate to talk to Cliff. Judging by the way you were looking at him yesterday."

"B-be quiet," I stuttered, blushing thoroughly. I could barely keep my composure as my shoulders became tense and hands clenched tightly.

"Anyway, I'd love to stop and chat, but my old man wants me to exchange a few words with certain people while I'm here. I'll see you around," Gray said smirking as he left me to walk to the other end of the beach.

Taking a moment to regain myself, I scanned the beach for people to talk to. I still haven't met many people, and of the numerous groups of people dotted around the sandy beach area, only one or two were recognisable to me. Though one face I didn't want to see, was pulling some moves on a girl, leaning up against a vacant vendor counter. I sighed and shook my head.

'Lumina wasn't going to be happy to see that,' I thought.

Not far in the distance, one face stood out more than anyone else's. Spacing out in the distance faced slightly away from me, I could make out Cliff's figure behind a small crowd of adults. My sub-conscious had acted ahead of the rest of my head as I walked up to him, around the back of the counter where Rock was flirting with a girl –who I had chosen to ignore for a number of reasons- and approached Cliff as I focused on keeping my nerves calm. Stood at his left side, he still hadn't noticed me. Grinning, I watched his expression. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Whatever it was, he seemed content.

After a minute he suddenly noticed me and jumped about half a foot when he saw me. Unsure of how to respond, I watched him as my hands unconsciously clasped my sleeves in front of my mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I quickly said.

"It's fine…" Cliff stuttered, straightening himself up. Standing next to him in clear daylight, I could see just how much taller he was compared to me. "I didn't mean to ignore you just then."

"I know," I replied with a smile, removing my sleeved hands from in front of my mouth. "Happy New Year by the way."

"Happy New Year," Cliff said with a slightly nervous smile. I couldn't fight back smiling even wider. "D-did you make any resolutions for the New Year?"

"Ah… I didn't really think about it," I mumbled. "But I guess if I were to make any goals, I would want to overcome my insecurities when talking to people. But being realistic, I think I would start by aiming to smile more."

"Smile more?" he asked with an equally curious expression.

"Y-yea. Many people I spent time around often said that I didn't smile much. They also said that they find people who smile more are people they feel more comfortable with," I explained, blushing a little.

"Hollie, you seem to smile plenty. Other people seem happy around you," Cliff said in a soft, calming tone. I watched his expression for a moment. He began to duck his head a little as his face began to heat up. "I-I know I'm happy around you."

I could feel my breath being sucked out of me as the words sunk in. All attempts at not looking like an idiot vanished as all my body heat centred itself on my face. My hands began to tremble and the only thing I could think of to disguise the erratic motion was to cling my hands onto my torso and hope it would absorb the motion so I didn't look ridiculous. After some effort I took a deep breath and pulled myself together.

"T-thank you," I mumbled through my quivering lips. I felt grateful that Cliff was hiding his face a little or I probably would have fled. I didn't want to scare him away. Not now I knew he would talk to me at all. Not now I knew for certain he wasn't someone dangerous or manipulative.

Cliff turned his face to look at me, his eyes only just visible under the strands of brown hair that covered his face. I smiled reassuringly at him and he responded with a small grin.

"W-what kind of resolution would you make?" I asked.

"I guess, the one thing I would really want is to overcome my shyness," Cliff answered with a nervous smile, lifting his head so he could see more clearly. "B-but, I guess I would start with being more comfortable around the people I can talk to."

"I bet you can achieve that easily," I said with a grin. Cliff stared at me with a look of surprise. "I bet, if we both we work hard, we can achieve our goals."

Cliff's surprised expression was quickly replaced by a smile again.

"Yea, let's work hard together," Cliff said with a confident smile.

This time, I was the one with a surprised expression.


End file.
